חַמּוֹן
Chammon, the name of two places in Palestine
Definition
Chammon is a proper noun referring to two distinct locations in ancient Israel, both likely named for their association with warm springs. The first is a town in the territory of Asher, mentioned in Joshua 19:28 as part of the tribe's inheritance. The second is a Levitical city in the territory of Naphtali, assigned to the Gershonite Levites as recorded in 1 Chronicles 6:76 (listed as Hammon in some translations). Both places share the same name and underlying meaning, deriving from the Hebrew root for 'warmth,' but they are geographically separate settlements.
Biblical Usage
The word is used exclusively as a place name in two Old Testament passages. In Joshua 19:28, it appears in a list of cities defining the borders of the tribe of Asher. In 1 Chronicles 6:76, it is listed among the cities given to the Levites from the tribe of Naphtali. Its usage is purely geographical, serving to identify specific locations within the tribal allotments of Israel.
Etymology
The name Chammon comes directly from the Hebrew root חָמַם (chamam, H2552), meaning 'to be hot' or 'to warm.' It is a derivative noun form indicating 'a warm place,' most naturally understood as a reference to a warm spring or a thermally heated location. This naming convention was common in the ancient Near East for places with notable geothermal features.
Semantic Range
In the ancient Israelite context, place names were often descriptive of physical geography or notable local features. A name like Chammon ('warm spring') would have immediately communicated a practical, identifiable characteristic of the location to the original audience, likely indicating it was a settlement built around a valuable source of warm water. This differs from modern place-naming conventions, which are often less descriptive.
No direct synonyms as a proper place name. Related conceptually to: עַיִן (ayin, H5869) — the common Hebrew word for 'spring' or 'fountain,' whereas Chammon specifies a warm spring.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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